Tile



Patented May 24, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

The invention relates to a tile for Walls, parti-V tions, iloors and various other places in building constructions.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple, practical and comparatively inexpensive tile provided at the top with an approximately hook shaped linger grip extension overlying the dead center of the tile and adapted to enable the tile to be lifted and handled by the ngers only of one hand and without the use of the thumb grip or the use of the free hand thereby enabling the tile to be laid more rapidly and accurately than when the thumb and iingers and the free hand are required to place the tile in proper position.

A further object of the invention is to provide a finger grip extension of this character which will project above the joint between two superposed tiles and form a water break and tend '20 to prevent water and moisture from working from the outside of the tile to the inner side thereof.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a tile which may be reversed or laid with the handle extension or lifting ledge either at the inner or outer side of the tile thereby speeding up the laying of tile.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tile having a mortar bed on both the inner'and outer sides of the tile thereby securing a good bed -between the same and the supporting tile or other surface and at the same time resulting in an equal distribution of the load on both sides of the tile.

a tile having spaced hollow wall sections connected with each other at both the top and bot- .tom of thetile thereby preventing the tile from spreading during the baking process and insuring a uniform thickness of the tile.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tile in which there will be no close dry joints adapted to cause breakage of the tile.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing and pointedout in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to without departing cn v from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advan- 55 tages of the invention.

Another object of the invention ls to provide ,In the drawing:-

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a tile constructed in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of a portion of a wall provided with my improved tile. 5

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view showing a portion of the tile with the upper outer cell broken away to permit bonding of brick or other masonry header courses.

In the accompanying drawing in which is illustrated one embodiment of the invention the tile comprises in its construction spaced hollow wall sections l and 2 of uniform height connected at the top' and bottom by transversely curved webs 3 and 4 presenting exterior concave surfaces and forming top and bottom approximately semi-circular grooves or channels 5 and 6 which extend longitudinally of the tile from one end of the same to the other end thereof. The top web is provided at the outer side with a curved finger grip extension 'l extending upwardly and inwardly and overhanging the top groove or channel 5 and extending from the outer side to a point slightly beyond the vmiddle or center of the top groove or channel 5 so as to form a linger receiving portion located above the dead center of the tile so as to enable the tile to be lifted by the ngers of one hand and accurately handled without necessitating a thumb grip or the use of the free hand in placing the tile in position. The curved nger grip extension l presents a lower concave approximately hook Shaped surface 8 to receive the fingers of one hand and when lifted by the fingers the tile will hang accurately in a vertical position and will enable 35 the tile to be rapidly and accurately laid in position.

The nger grip extension which forms a ledge extends upwardly above the plane of the joint 9 between two superposed tiles and it is received within the bottom recess 6 of the tile next above it and as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawing it forms a water break and presents a curved inclined surface which is adapted to prevent any4 Water from working from the outside of the tile to the inside thereof.

While the upper surface of the finger grip extension is preferably curved as shown to provide a symmetrical tile, it may of course be of any other configuration Awithout interfering with the effectiveness of the extension as a finger grip and as a water break. Also the .form of the curved top and -bottom connecting webs may be varied but the approximately semi-circular or semi-cylindrical character of the webs provide an arch at the bottom and an inverted arch at the top which contributes to the 'strength of the tile.

The spaced hollow wall sections and the connecting webs form a central cell I and by connecting the wall sections at the extreme top and bottom thereof are adapted to effectually prevent the tile from spreading during the baking process, thereby insuring uniform thickness of the tile. The top and bottom channels or grooves are substantially the same size and form and the bottom groove or channel 6 is of ample size to receive the finger grip extension of the next lowermost tile and the top channel or groove of one tile and the bottom channel or groove of the adjacent upper tile form a space which breaks the mortar joints 9 and increases the waterprooing characteristics of the tile.

The hollow wall sections I and 2 are each com- DOSed of inner and outer vertical wall portions II and I2 and top, bottom and intermediate connecting webs I3, I4 and I5 which dei'lne upper, lower and intermediate voids or cells I1, I8 and 22, but one or more of cells I1, I8 and 22 may be omitted depending on the width and height of the wall section desired. At intervals it is preferred to break off` the upper cell I1 to permit the bonding of brick or other masonry header courses. The inner end of the header rests in the space provided by removing the cell I1. The exterior of the wall Asections -I and 2 may be smooth or scored at top, bottom and side to form grooves I9 and intervening ribs or projecting portions 20 if desired for keying the tile and increasing the bond between the same and mortar or other plastic material used in the jointsand also for coating with stucco, plaster or bonding with brickwork, stone, or other masonry. The invention .can be used on tiles having any number of cells therein and of any desired shape and size. The

cell I1 and, when manufactured without the upper outer cell I1., it will not only save freight but also the labor in removing the same at the job.

The tile has a mortar bed 2| at each side of the tile which insures a good rm bed for the tile and at the same time distributes the weight to both sides of the tile uniformly and prevents any breakage due to uneven pressure on the tile.

What is claimed is:-,

1. A building tile comprising spaced wall sections of any desired height and width, and top and bottom connecting webs forming longitudinal grooves at the top and bottom of the tile, the top web being provided at one side of the tile with a finger gri`p extension extending upwardly and inwardlyabov the top groove and having a lower approximately hookshaped nger' receiving surface overhanging the dead center of the tile and adapted to enable the tile to be lifted and handled solely by the ngers of one hand. said linger grip extension projecting above the top of the tile suiilciently to extend above the VJoint between two superposed tilesv and form a and top and bottom similarly curved connecting l webs presenting substantially similar exterior concave surfaces cross sectionally approximately semicircular and forming central grooves extending longitudinally of the extreme top and bottoni of the tile and lying within the horizontal planes of the top and bottom of the wall sections, the upper web being provided at one side with a finger grip extension extending longitudinally of the tile and overhanging the top groove of the same and curved upwardly and inwardly in cross section and forming an approximately hook Shaped nger receiving lower surface at approximately the center of the top groove to enable the tile to be lifted and handled'` by the ngers only of kone hand, said nger grip extension projecting above the hollow wall sections of the tile vto a point above the joint between two superposed tiles to form a water break to prevent water from working from the outer side of the tile to lth'e inner side thereof.

3. A tile comprising spaced hollow similar wall sections of any desired height and width, and top and bottom similarly curved connecting webs presenting substantially similar exterior concave surfaces cross sectionally approximately semicircular and forming central grooves extending longitudinally of the extreme top and bottom of the tile and lying within the horizontal planes of the top and bottom of the wallsections, the upper web being provided at one side with a finger grip extension extending longitudinally of the tile and overhanging the top groove of the same and curved upwardly and inwardly in cro`ss section and forming an approximately hook shaped 11nger receiving lower surface at approximately the,-

center of the top groove to enable the tile to be lifted and handled by the fingers only of one hand, said finger grip extension projecting above the hollow'wall sections of the tile to a point above the joint between two superposed tiles to form a water break to prevent water from working from the outer side of the tile to the inner side thereof. l ARCHIE J. STREAT. 

